GMOS

The two Gemini Multi-Object Spectrographs (GMOS), one on each telescope, provide 0.36-0.94 µm long-slit and multi-slit spectroscopy and imaging over a 5.5 square arcminute field of view. Each GMOS is also equipped with an Integral Field Unit (IFU) making it possible to obtain spectra from a 35 square arcsecond area with a sampling of 0.2 arcseconds. The Nod-and-Shuffle mode, which enables superior sky subtraction, is available with both GMOS-N and GMOS-S in most spectroscopic modes.

The GMOS were built by a collaboration of the Astronomy Technology Centre at the ROE, the University of Durham in the UK and the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Canada. GMOS-N was delivered in July 2001 with GMOS-S following in December 2002.

The Instrument Scientists for GMOS are German Gimeno (GMOS-S) and Kathy Roth (GMOS-N).

Announcements

New Red-Sensitive CCDs manufactured by Hamamatsu Photonics were installed at GMOS-S in June 2014; more information regarding these CCDs is available on the GMOS-S Array (Hamamatsu) webpages. The GMOS-N array features the deep depletion devices from e2v: more information about it can be found on the GMOS-N Array (e2v DD) webpages. See the Status and Availability webpage for more details on the Hamamatsu project.

In order to allow observers to take advantage of the wavelength regime opened up by the new detectors, we have installed two new filters (Z and Y) for imaging and band limited spectroscopy in the far red at GMOS-N. These new filters are available now, although the Y-filter will only be scientifically useful once the new CCDs are commissioned. The same filters will be installed on GMOS-S. See the GMOS filters webpage for more details.